PokerStarsBlog.com :: PokerStars Sunday Tournamentshttp://www.pokerstarsblog.com/
Poker blog offering poker tournament news for PokerStars events. Includes European Poker Tour, Asia Pacific Poker Tour, WCOOP, and WSOP coverage.enCopyright 2014Sun, 04 Mar 2012 17:59:52 -0800http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specificationSunday Warm-Up: Yes, we can! auercan takes down $112K in victoryIt's hard not to look ahead to the next few weeks for the excitement coming across the upcoming tournaments here at PokerStars. You got the 6th anniversary of the original Sunday Major, the Sunday Million bigger and badder with a $6,000,000 guarantee and someone walking away with seven figures. Then, those of us small-stakes players will get to shine like those in tonight's $500,000 guarantee Sunday Warm-up while playing in the MicroMillions. In ten days just eleven cents is enough to potentially get you a seat at a final table that could be worth thousands. Not bad for pocket change found a coffeehouse floor. Tonight's Sunday Warm-up carried a little higher price tag at $215 which 3,770 players probably did not find on the floor of a Starbucks but they all got an equal chance of finishing the top 540 places for a slice of the $754,000.00 prize pool.

Down to just over 30K in tournament chips, the last Red Spade standing Team Online's Javier "El_Cañonero" Dominguez would enjoy a slight double up with just four-nine offsuit, then a triple up to nearly 200K after winning a three-way all-in holding pocket kings against linnna's suited Ace-eight and super_proper's big slick to get back into tournament contention with 145 players left and 6K/12K ante 1,200. A race against Polizischt's big slick while still in the 6K/12K ante 1.2K level would push the Spanish online pro over 400K as the number of players left tumbled to two digits. Just before the blinds moved up to 10K/20K ante 10K Dominguez would try to throw around the weight of his newly found stack but it would find some resistance in the form of tamikaspace. Starting out with a min-raise to 30,000 from the small blind, tamikaspace would three-bet to 73,280 from the big blind. Javier sensing a little weakness would shove for 376,158 total as tamikaspace covered and made the call holding [Qc][Ac]. Javier was also suited but trailing with the [Js][6s]. No spades on the [9h] [3c] [5d] [Td] [Ad] board and the Team Online member was pushed to the rail in 83rd place ($1,131.00) cashing in the Sunday Warm-up for the second consecutive week.

tamikaspace would run away with the chip lead for almost two hours after eliminating Dominguez but handed that lead off to auercan of Turkey after finishing in 22nd place ($1,922.00). auercan would take the lead going into the final two tables as the only player over four million chips holding 6,041,518 as the players took a five minute rest before coming back to the 40K/80K ante 8K level.

2NDclass: "id b surprised if your computer is still in one piece" after watching Lenya Summer take a second bad beat. The first one was doled out by 2NDclass himself spiking a six with pocket sixes all-in preflop against Lenya's pocket kings for a two million chip pot. Then, ok72 with ace-six would shove a short stack from middle position only to get called by Lenya's ace-jack. Sixes? Not Lenya Summer's favorite number after two of them appeared on the flop to knock the German down to under a 100,000 chips and blinds at 50K/100K ante 10K. Never fear, Lenya would double up three times to rally to almost 800K in chips as Charibert on the other table fell in 18th place ($2,262.00).

kurt23x's trip nines would send short stacked maaarcel out in 17th place ($2,262.00) and the bad beats kept coming on Table 74 as TESIK and ok72 pitched in their short stacks for a 1.7 million chip pot and TESIK's [Qs][Ad] would find a queen on the flop and another on the river [8h] [Jd] [Qh] [7s] [Qd] to beat out ok72's big slick [Ks][As] who finished in 16th place ($2,262.00) narrowly missing out another big final table as ok72 took sixth place during Event #30 at this year's inaugural Turbo Championship of Online Poker (TCOOP). Tryboom would finish in 15th place shortly before Lenya Summer's run would finally end in 14th place ($3,393.00).

CesarSPA has several Major final tables here at PokerStars including the Sunday Million in November which he took home sixth place for $44K tonight's run would end short of a final table however trying to squeeze queen-jack offsuit past the pocket kings of A-laursen and finishing in 13th place ($3,393.00). After hansapils82 and torkolort1 finished in 11th and 12nd place respectively (both earning $4,524.00) the hand-for-hand notices popped up on both tables as the blinds held at 80K/160K ante 16K.

A tough final table bubble to burst as 15 minutes of hand-for-hand play would float by as well as blinds moving up to 100K/200K ante 20K as none of the final ten were willing to give up their shot at the $118,378.00 first place prize. Two hands into the new blinds and TESIK was backed into a corner holding just 627,248 chips and in the small blind. danita332789 was happy to apply more pressure min-raising from the cutoff as TESIK would shove holding [Ts][Ac]. Back to danita332789 looking down at [Kh][8h] making the math call and was rewarded with a king on the flop [2d] [5d] [Kc] [9d] [3d] to take down the 1.5 million chip pot sending TESIK off on the final table bubble in tenth place ($4,524.00) and starting up the final table below:

In what might be a first for this tournament, we would not lose our first player at the final table until the 150K/300K ante 30K level. danita332789 would start the betting with a min-raise from UTG+1 as Pokerfan89Gr would shove from the small blind for 1.54 million. Holding a small suited ace [2h][Ah] and not much more to call, danita332789 would do just that up against the pocket queens [Qh][Qd] of Pokerfan89Gr. No rivered ace excellent or disappointment depending on the side you are rooting for as the ace hit the flop along with a two [3s] [Ad] [2c] [8s] [Kc] to end Pokerfan89Gr's night in ninth place ($6,032.00).

And there's the ace in a familiar place

Right before the blinds were scheduled to move up, Danita332789 and A-laursen got together preflop for a 5.6 million chip pot. Check out below as the ace on the board lands in a well-known place:

RSS readers please click through to view video

Ace on the river helped danita332789's [Ks][Ah] overcome A-laursen's pocket kings [Kc][Kh] to knock out A-laursen in eighth place ($9,425.00).

2NDclass earns a 1st class paycheck

Up to 200K/400K ante 40K blinds and 2NDclass clinging on to 2.01 million chips, shoved from middle position as matilla87 made sure no one else wanted in by re-raising to four million. No takers as matilla87 rolled over [Qd][Ac] which dominated the [6d][Ah] held by 2NDclass. Two pair on the board negated the domination [5h] [4d] [4s] [5c], but the [Qh] did not as 2NDclass will now have the funds for a upgrade finishing in seventh place ($16,965.00).

From "do you want a deal?" to the biggest pot of the tournament

Still in the 200K/400K ante 40K blind level, matilla87 tried to squeeze in a six-way deal attempt, but kurt23x and LaurisL91 were too busy shoving their chips into the middle as auercan, who made a min-raise from the button, folded to BOTH blinds shoving. Pocket fours [4h][4c] for kurt23x as LaurisL91 covered and turned up tens [Td][Tc]. Despite picking up four more outs on the turn, kurt23x watched the harmless jack fall on the river [3s] [5h] [Qh] [7c] [Jh] to end the night in sixth place ($24,505.00).

After the long wait the field trimmed once again

While it took 20 minutes into the final table to get people to leave, only a few minutes would separate the eliminations in the 200K/400K ante 40K level. auercan again came in with a min-raise from the button as danita332789 with 3.72 million would shove from the small blind holding [As][Tc] hoping to pick up some dead chips. Instead auercan was more than happy to call with the dominating [Ac][Jc]. Both players would pair their kicker [4h] [7s] [Jh] [Ts] [3h] but the preflop lead held as danita332789 would exit in fifth place ($32,045.00).

Back-to-back for auercan

The aggressive player from Turkey continue his tear on the final table on the very next hand making a call from the big blind as hmd78 tried open shoving from the small blind. auercan only held a small ace [2s][Ac] but found himself in the lead over hmd78's [9c][Kd]. Neither player found a card connecting theirs on the [6s] [Jc] [6h] [7c] [4c] board as hmd78 used his stealthy ways to earn a fourth place finish ($43,355.00).

Costly non-deal

Down to three players the threesome tried to connect with each other emotionally and financially but tonight there would be no hugs of congratulations as the players used their five minute hourly break for nothing but a busted deal attempt and play would roll on. auercan would score a major hit on the chip leading LaurisL91's stack after raking in a 23.6 million chip pot when the two shoved preflop and LaurisL91 leading with big slick [Ac][Kc] against auercan's [Qc][Jc]. But a straight by the turn [9c] [4c] [Th] [8d] [Jd] would shift all power to auercan. 12 hands later auercan would scoop up the rest of LaurisL91's chips as Lithuanian took home third place ($62,205.00). Perhaps LaurisL91's previous experience at a major final table had some sway into the non-deal as he was the runner-up in the Sunday Million back in November for $178K.

Now we can hug it out

With LaurisL91 gone, the remaining two would get right to sending verbal kisses across the chat box and quickly came to the deal shown below (leaving aside $10,000 for the winner):

aurecan: $102,869.69
matilla87: $93,726.31

You can't beat luck

auercan holding a 27.9 million to matilla87's 9.7 million would put away the tournament just seven hands after agreeing to the deal. Check out the final hand below:

RSS readers please click through to view video

Getting the money in behind again, as auercan held [Kd][9d] to matilla87's big slick [Ad][Ks] but the board was in favor of auercan once again as a nine would hit the door and turn [9s] [Ts] [Qh] [9c] [Kh] to hand auercan the extra $10,000.00 and claim this week's Sunday Warm-up title!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/sw/2012/sunday-warm-up-yes-we-can-auercan-takes-091625.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSunday TournamentsSunday Warm-UpSun, 04 Mar 2012 17:59:52 -0800Sunday Million: TY4Stacks2 politely lays claim to $185,384Nothing helps beat the summer heat like a long day of online poker, especially when the PokerStars Sunday Million is in the mix. Your proof for this weekend: just over 3,400 players were in their seats, fingers at the ready over mouse buttons, as this week's installment of the world's most famous $215 poker tournament began. Their numbers had swelled to 6,565 by the time late registration closed, a little less than last week's 6,811 but still enough to build a guarantee-smashing $1,313,000 prize pool.

Aside from helping them escape the heat, the Sunday Million didn't do our sponsored players any favors this week. Plenty of PokerStars pros showed up to play, among them Liv Boeree, Humberto Brenes, Nacho Barbero and Lex Veldhuis. Only Johnny Lodden, however, was among the 990 players who still had chips when the money bubble burst exactly five hours after the tournament began. He ended up finishing 633rd for $380.77.

It's the end of the tournament as we know it.

With blinds at 125K/250K and antes at 25K, these players took their seats at the final table some 10 hours after play first began:

On the 19th hand of the final table play the first player fell. With the action folded to eljanich in third position, the Azerbaijani player moved all-in for just over 2.1 million and got a single call from chip leader LeKnave in the cutoff. With [Ah] [Qh] to LeKnave's [Kc] [Ks], eljanich would need help from the board. The [7h] [7c] [Jd] [8h] [Qs] board paired the queen but wasn't enough, sending eljanich to the rail in 9th place ($10,175.75).

The next out, in unexpected fashion, was the UK's 26071985. With blinds now up to 200K/400K with a 40K ante the action folded to the button, where 26071985 promptly moved all-in for 6.12 million chips. TY4Stacks2 didn't waste much time calling with [8s] [8c], which was in the lead against the original raiser's [Ah] [2c]. One pair was good enough for TY4Stacks to seize the chip lead as the board ran out [9d] [7d] [3d] [5h] [Th], and 26071985 was out in 8th place ($15,756).

Back-to-back attack

The table was soon down to just five players thanks to back-to-back eliminations. Canada's tony2pairsAK dealt the first knockout blow with [Qd] [Qc] against the [Ah] [Kh] of vasil1976197, who left in 7th place ($28,886) when the board ran out [Jh] [4s] [6c] [8d] [Qs]. On the very next hand the action folded to untouchble10 in the small blind and the Moldovan player shoved for 4.7 million with [Jc] [Tc]. KevinV called in the big blind with [Ac] [Js] and dodged a gutshot straight draw on the [Kd] [9h] [2h] [5c] [3h] board to send untouchble10 out in 6th place ($42,016). Talk of a deal sprang up briefly but LeKnave was having none of it, so play continued.

Eight hands later, with blinds now at 250K/500K and antes at 50K, tony2pairsAK sealed his fate in 5th place ($55,146) on this hand:

PDJ4ck had entered the final table with the chip lead but hadn't been able to build any real momentum as the field dwindled. That downward trend hit its final note after KevinV opened under the gun for 1 million and PDJ4ck shoved in the big blind for another 6.1 million. It turned that both players' decisions were nearly automatic; PDJ4ck held [Ah] [Kc] and KevinV [Th] [Tc]. The [Qc] [9h] [3d] [4d] [2h] board couldn't help crack the pocket pairand PDJ4ck exited in 4th place ($72,215).

Yes, no, maybe...can you repeat the question?

Facing only two more opponents, LeKnave was more amenable to a proposed deal than earlier. But the numbers based on the current counts weren't to the liking of Sweden's TY4Stacks, who held almost twice the chips of either of the other players. The chip leader nixed the deal and got the action restarted.

TY4Stacks dominated the action three-handed as KevinV and LeKnave both tried to stay afloat. Eventually they would run into each other when LeKnave opened for 1 million on the button and TY4Stacks2 folded in the small blind. Holding [Ad] [7d], KevinV put LeKnave to the test by moving all-in for an effective 10.8 million. LeKnave didn't think too long before calling with [Kh] [Qc], which quickly took the lead on the [Qd] [5d] [5s] flop. The turn brought the [8d], however, and the [4d] on the river brought no full house, sending LeKnave out in 3rd place ($105,040).

Separated by only 14 big blinds, the last two players agreed to look at the numbers for a deal once more. This time the numbers - $165,384.15 for TY4Stacks2, $162,035.65 for KevinV and $20,000 for the winner - were more to the Swede's liking, and play resumed with that deal on the books. For 16 hands they sparred before TY4Stacks2 grabbed a 24-million-chip pot by firing three barrels on a [Kd] [8c] [6d] [7c] [Qs] and getting a fold on the river.

Seven hands later the tournament title would come down to a coin flip, KevinV three-betting all-in for 16.3 million chips with [3h] [3d] and TY4Stacks2 calling with [As] [7c]. The [Ts] [9c] [8h] flop was as bad as it could be for KevinV without actually falling behind, and the [Ah] on the turn reduced all hope to just two remaining cards. Neither of them was the river card - the [Qd] - so KevinV took home the agreed-upon sum of $162,035.65. TY4Stacks claimed the winner's share as well as the negotiated amount for a total purse of $185,384.15.

So that's another successful Sunday in the annals of PokerStars history. Want to see your name here next week? The Sunday Million page should probably be your first stop.

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2011/sunday-million-ty4stacks2-politely-lays-085840.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSunday MillionSun, 07 Aug 2011 23:18:22 -0800Sunday Storm: Uvelir888 tops six-figure field for six-figure scoreThe inaugural Sunday Storm field could not fit into London's Wembley Arena. It couldn't fit into the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, or the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Even the largest football arena in the western world, Ann Arbor's Michigan Stadium, would leave over 3,800 players in the parking lot. Nothing attracts a poker player quite like a massive prize pool and as we learned earlier this month with the Sunday Million 5th Anniversary tournament, if you build it, they will most certainly come. All 113,770 of them.

To celebrate the Sunday 1/4 Million's metamorphosis into the $11 buy-in Sunday Storm, PokerStars guaranteed a $1 million prize pool, and only a few minutes into late registration, it surpassed the guarantee, topping out at $1,137,700. Miraculously, it only took a bit over ten hours to go from 12,641 tables to one. 14,634 players made the money, among them ten members of Team PokerStars Pro and Team Online: Mathew "chipstar1" Didlick (10,999th), Tyler "frosty012" Frost ( 9,010th), Shane "shaniac" Schleger (6,940th), Jude "j. thaddeus" Ainsworth (6,377th), Joep "Pappe_Ruk" Van Den Bijgaart (6,017th), Barry Greenstein (4,722nd), Nuno Coelho (4,574th), Liv Boeree (4,171st), JP Kelly (2,382nd) and Dennis Phillips (1,165th). Also making a deep run was PokerStars live circuit regular Alex "Assassinato" Fitzgerald, who ultimately bowed out in 27th place.

Tripleace112 bubbled the final table after three-bet shoving for 8.93 million over YouDisgustMe's 2 million opening raise. Dj Andres moved all-in behind him for 24.23 million and YouDisgustMe folded, leaving them heads-up to the board. Dj Andres' [As][Ks] held up against Tripleace112's [Ah][Jh], and what was once the size of a small city was down to nine players.

With the blinds up to 500,000/1,000,000, Lucksshadow7 wasted no time getting his chips in the middle, four-bet shoving for 12.44 million before the flop on the second hand of the final table. Although initial raiser dray313 folded, three-bettor Uvelir888 made the call, his [Jd][6d] up against [Ac][Kd]. Lucksshadow7 flopped top two pair, the board running out [As][5d][Kc][Jh][5h] to double his stack to 29.52 million. Four hands later, Lucksshadow7 did it again, this time through chip leader YouDisgustMe. Holding [Kh][Jd] on a [Qs][Td][2h] flop, YouDisgustMe led out for 4.8 million, Lucksshadow7 raised to 13.2 million with [Ac][Qc] and YouDisgustMe called. Despite missing his straight draw on the turn when the [2d] fell, YouDisgustMe fired out 10.8 million and Lucksshadow7 moved all-in for 13.2 million. YouDisgustMe called the additional 2.64 million, Lucksshadow7's queens and deuces holding up through the [7s] on the river. After starting the final table second from the bottom in chips, Lucksshadow7 was now second from the top with 60.9 million while YouDisgustMe fell to 88.9 million.

The final table had its first casualty when dray313 got his last 21 big blinds in preflop with [Ad][Qc] against Uvelir888's [Ah][Js], only to watch his opponent turn a Broadway straight on the [Tc][Ks][3s][Qd][4h] board. Uvelir888 moved up to second position with nearly 81 million while dray313 departed in ninth place, collecting $8,418.98. Table short stack Vedic.Knight pulled the trigger a few minutes later, moving in for 9.44 million with [Jc][9s], only to run into moreshipn1mb's [Jd][Jh]. Although Vedic.Knight picked up a flush draw against moreshipn1mb's middle set when the flop came down [As][Js][4s], Vedic.Knight couldn't find another spade and exited in eighth place for a $13,652.40 score.

Although moreshipn1mb received a nice chip infusion on that hand, it only buoyed him for another fifteen minutes. With the blinds up to 900,000/1,800,000, Dj Andres opened for 4.5 million from middle position and moreshipn1mb moved all-in for 29 million from the big blind. Holding [Ac][7s], moreshipn1mb was probably hoping for a fold, but instead got a call, Dj Andres turning over a dominating [Ah][Kd]. It held on the [Kh][7d][2c][8d][4c] board and moreshipn1mb hit the rail in seventh, earning $19,909.75.

Although YouDisgustMe quickly lost the chip lead at this final table, he built it back up to 100 million before shedding it all in four hands. Lucksshadow7 was the first lucky recipient of a double-up, his [As][Kh] flopping a king against YouDisgustMe's pocket tens. Half of the 80 million he was left with went to Uvelir888, who successfully value bet his queens and tens to win a 75 million pot and move into the chip lead with 148 million. Dubble Ace doubled up when his [Ah][9d] held against YouDisgustMe's [Ks][Qs], and left with seven big blinds, YouDisgustMe shipped them in with pocket nines. Uvelir888 called with [Ac][5h], but hit trips on the [5s][8s][5d][4c][7c] board to KO YouDisgustMe in sixth place for a $26,735.95 payday.

With five players remaining, Uvelir888 was the runaway chip leader with 186.3 million while his four opponents all sported stacks between 16 and 65 million. Samole9915 was the first of the shorties to roll the dice. With the action folded to him in the small blind, Samole9915 moved his last 7 1/2 big blinds into the middle with [As][Qh] and Uvelir888 looked him up with [Qc][Ts]. Samole9915 didn't have his opponent dominated for long, as the flop came down [9d][Kh][Td] to pair Uvelir888's kicker. The [Qs] on the turn made Uvelir888 two pair and left Samole9915 drawing only to a jack to win the pot. The river, however, was the [2d] and Samole9915's Sunday Storm ended with a fifth-place finish and a $35,268.70 score. As final table host Shane "shaniac" Schleger pointed out, that's 3,205 times his buy-in and a stunning ROI.

At this point, Uvelir888 was firmly in the driver's seat with 252 million of the 341 million chips in play while his three opponents were in a battle for second place. Dj Andres was the first one to budge, moving all-in for 18.2 million (6BB) with pocket nines. Uvelir888 called with [Ac][Qc], but could not outrun the pocket pair as Dj Andres moved up to 40.7 million in chips.

In the final table's most dramatic elimination, Lucksshadow7 hit the rail in fourth place in this three-way all-in. Although Lucksshadow7 turned a set with pocket fives, DjAndres hit a two-outer on the river to make a higher set:

Six hands later, Dj Andres met his own end. With the blinds up to 1.75M/3.5M, Uvelir888 opened for a min-raise, Dj Andres three-bet to 17.5 million, and Uvelir888 called. The flop came down [Jd][9s][2h] and Dj Andres led out for a 19.25 million continuation bet. Uvelir888 called and they went to the turn, which fell the [Kh]. Dj Andres shoved for his remaining 38.3 million and Uvelir888 snap-called, turning up [As][Ac] to Dj Andres' [Ah][Js]. The river was the [5h] and Dj Andres met his tournament end. For his third-place finish, he collected $68,262.

The initial heads-up chip count (318.1 million to 23.2 million) was lopsided to say the least and eleven hands later, it was all over. Dubble Ace open-shoved for his last three big blinds with [Ts][2d] and Uvelir888 called from the big blind with the lowly [2s][3c]. Uvelir888 will probably never look at that hand the same way again, as he hit bottom pair on the [Kh][7c][3d] flop to take the lead. The turn was the [7h], the river was the [8d], and after 113,769 eliminations, the Sunday Storm had its first champion. Uvelir888 took home $210,351.74 for the win while runner-up Dubble Ace earned $111,494.60.

Ready to take your shot at a huge payday? The Sunday Storm page has all the information you need.

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2011/sunday-storm-uvelir888-tops-six-figure-f-079819.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSunday StormMon, 28 Mar 2011 01:05:57 -0800Sunday Warm-Up: needdollarz gets $98K in three-way chop victoryWith the Sunday Million on hiatus due to 8,669 players who are trying to gain a last minute ticket into this year's World Series of Poker Main Event, the big tourney of the evening started a few hours earlier. The $750,000 guarantee Sunday Warm-up had a strong showing tonight despite all the players looking for a last minute Father's Day gift, much like a certain writer who picked up a Home Depot gift card on the way to see his dad. 4,129 showed up for with the $215 buy-in and unlike last week, crushed the guarantee creating an $825,800.00 prize pool leaving aside $129,553.34 of that for tonight's winner. Perhaps the victor tonight will show up at his or her father's place with little more than I did after taking home the six-figure win.

Down to the final table bubble and a difference of around $1,600 on the line, not to mention the six figures awaiting for our winner, short-stacked Mochuelo1 with just over one million chips and 80K/160K ante 16K blind tried to improve with a shove from the cutoff holding [Ks][Qh]. JoeJ1337 in the big blind looking down at pocket tens [Tc][Ts] refused to relinquish the blinds and made the call. In an odd reverse fade, JoeJ1337 started spamming "Q" in the chat box, and sure enough nary a "Q" found the [7s] [5h] [8s] [7h] [Th] board and Mochuelo1 was sent home in tenth place ($4,954.80).

Blinds would move up to 100K/200K ante 20K within a few minutes of the final nine being seated as needdollarz came in with the most tournament dollars followed closely by degiomusic and QazNiNowPlz who was flying the colors of Denmark.

Hearts Ahoy

After losing a huge eight million chip pot to SilliSuhonen, lankeshwar was left with just a half million in chips. Three hands later with the blinds at 125K/250K ante 25K, lankeshwar found [Ad][Qs] in early position and open shove for 476,916 chips. Folded around to degiomusic in the big blind who only had to call another 226,916 while holding 3.4 million behind, made the math call with [4h][9h]. 1.3 million chips in the middle with lankeshwar having to fade a flush draw [Th] [3h] [3d] after two hearts hit the flop. [Js] on the turn was fine, the red lady on the river [Qh] completed the flush for degiomusic sending lankeshwar off in ninth place ($6,606.40).

Moving with the chip rhythm

Five hands later da produca would open shove from UTG holding pocket nines [9s][9d] for 3.3 million. Two spots over degiomusic held pocket kings [Kd][Kh] and called all-in for just 82,947 chips less as the rest of the table went back to watching World Cup highlights. Two pair came out on the [Qh] [5s] [Td] [Ts] [Qs] board as degiomusic's kings over queens reigned supreme, taking in the 7.1 million chip pot. The very next hand da produca's 82,947 chips went into the middle in the big blind as QazMiNowPlz and degiomusic made the call. After the [Kd][7d][6c] flop, degiomusic led out for the minimum as QazMiNowPlz left the hand and turned up [Kc][Js] for top pair. da produca still had some life with the ragged [5h][9h] and an inside straight draw. But, the saving eight would stay away from the [6h] turn and [3c] river sending the da produca back to da studio in eighth place ($10,322.50).

Nitrite blows up

In one of the biggest pots of the tournament to this point, chip leader SilliSuhonen would put needdollarz to the test preflop after needdollarz found his preflop raised by both Nitrite and SilliSuhonen. needdollarz would abandon the 532,123 chips as Nitrite was all-in against SilliSuhonen for the 7.9 million chip pot. Watch the results below:

RSS readers click through to see replay

Pocket queens for SilliSuhonen [Qd][Qc] would trample Nitrite's [Jd][Ac] on the [3d] [3h] [Kd] [8d] [Th] board and scoop the 7.9 million chips as Nitrite took in $18,580.50 in seventh place.

1337dOOd done

The blinds moved up to 150K/300K ante 30K as JoeJ1337 and QazMiNowPlz tried to combine their similar five million chips and change stacks into one massive stack preflop. JoeJ1337 would cover by 57,705 chips and turned over pocket eights [8s][8d] to QazMiNowPlz's big slick [Kc][Ad]. Much like the final table bubble hand, JoeJ1337 immediately went for the reverse sweat and started spamming "aaaaaaaaaa". Obviously, that worked as no ace hit the board but a king did on the river [3s] [7h] [4c] [4h] [Ks] sending the 11 million chip pot to QazMiNowPlz. The next hand SilliSuhonen would scoop up JoeJ1337's scraps and send the elite one out in sixth place ($26,838.50).

Time to face the music

Just two hands later degiomusic, who helped carve a few players from the final table would find his own head on the chopping block facing chip leader SilliSuhonen. After raare01 and degiomusic made the call of SilliSuhonen preflop raise to 700K all three would see the [Qs][Ks][5d] flop. From the big blind degiomusic tried to scare off the remaining players with a shove for 2.7 million. Instead the response was an equally quick call from SilliSuhonen holding big slick [Ks][As] and quick fold by raare01. degiomusic also held top pair but a lesser kicker [9h][Kd], and failed to catch up on the [8h] turn and [7s] river leaving the tournament in fifth place ($35,096.50).

3-2-1 Contact!

Three eliminations in four hands tends to make writer's hands cramp up. With the blinds holding steady at 150K/300K ante 30K raare01 tried to hop into the action by shoving for 2.3 million over the top of a preflop raise by needdollarz. Holding 6.1 million in chips and only having to call 1.7 million more, needdollarz would make the call holding [7s][Ac]. raare01's [Ah][8c] looked a lot brighter after the [6d][9s][Jc] flop. But, the [7h] would dim the lights on raare01's tournament as the [3s] turned those five million chips in needdollarz's direction. raare01 would finish just outside of the proposed deal in fourth place ($46,657.70).

Did I mention a deal?

Immediately the final three had our PokerStars host pause the time clock for one of the quicker deals I have had the pleasure of covering. Details below leaving $10,000.00 for the winner:

Watch this massive 17 milllion chip pot between needdollarz and QazMiNowPlz play out below:

RSS readers click through to see replay

After the [4h][6h][8s] flop QazMiNowPlz would check as needdollarz would lead out for one million. QazMiNowPlz check-raised all-in and covered as needdollarz could not hit the call button quickly enough with the flopped straight [5d][7s]. QazMiNowPlz's top pair [Kh][8d] would be drawing dead by the [3s] turn as 17 million chips went to needdollarz. QazMiNowPlz's remaining 666,873 chips would be placed in the middle for a snack on the next hand as SilliSuhonen would hit a broadway straight to send off QazMiNowPlz in third place ($87,678.76).

Quick end to a long tourney

Ten hours after 4,129 players started, heads-up play would begin with needdollarz in a 15.8 million to 25.4 million chip deficit to SilliSuhonen. Three hands in needdollarz would score a needed double-up with another eight high straight, scoring 31.2 million chips. After the reversal in chip counts, needdollarz would apply the pressure in winning six of the final eight hands including the final hand where SilliSuhonen decided to test his luck preflop and shoved for 7.5 million chips holding two face cards [Qh][Jc]. With decent suited ace [Td][Ad] needdollarz made the call. A jack on the flop [Ks] [8s] [Jh] had SilliSuhonen looking good to get back into the tournament. [9d] helped no one on the turn but the rivered [Qs] improved both hands as needdollarz racked up yet another straight and the final 15 million tournament chips to become this week's Sunday Warm-up champion and collected the additional $10,000 bringing the total winnings to $98,320.19!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/sw/2010/sunday-warm-up-needdollarz-gets-98k-in-t-070770.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSunday TournamentsSunday Warm-UpSun, 20 Jun 2010 20:33:37 -0800Vtiger victorius, kakagun cashes huge in Sunday Warm-Up
A slightly smaller crowd settled in for this Sunday's Warm-Up, still crushing the guarantee as 4,314 players built a ginormous $862,800 prize pool. At the end of the night it was vtiger coming from behind to take down the title and $79,664 prize as part of a four-way deal that left runner-up kakagun actually winning the most money on the night, as his dominating chip lead with four players left locked up $127,043 as a reward for his aggressive tournament.

That cracking sound you heard was kakagun cracking Jensefar's pocket kings to send Jensefar to the rail in 10th place and set himself up with a monster stack going into the final table. The disparity from the rich and the poor at the final table was pretty heavy, with kakagun and zefir_max both coming into the final nine with over $10 million in chips, while the short-stacked hummylun and Ruguebye had less than a million each.
After logging one double-up, hummylun got it all in again against Ruguebye and mschili-26, and this time it didn't go so well. Ruguebye and mschili-26 checked down the [6d]-[Js]-[Ah]-[Jd]-[Qc] board, and when the hole cards were revealed, it was Ruguebye with [5s]-[5c] sending hummylun and his pocket [3h]-[3s] to the rail in 9th place ($6,902.40).

Santicua made a bold move at the wrong moment to end his tournament in 8th place ($10,785). With [Ad]-[9c], santicua raised preflop and got action from Proludo, who defended his big blind. The flop came a seemingly-harmless [3c]-[8h]-[7d], and Proludo checked. Santicua moved all in, and Proludo snap-called with [7h]-[7s] for a flopped set. Santicua was drawing dead on the flop, and could only watch as the turn and river came down [2h]-[5c].

Just when you think somebody's on the ropes, the tides can turn. Kakagun's unbridled aggression got him to the final table with the chip lead, but some loose calls and some tough hands put him firmly in the middle of the pack. Until he tangled again with chip leader zefir_max. Zefir_max opened for a raise from under the gun, and kakagun three-bet from the cutoff. Zefir flat-called, and the flop came down [Jc]-[Th]-[5d]. Zefir checked, kakagun bet, and zefir check-raised. Kakagun re-raised, zefir raised again, and kakagun moved all in. Zefir made the call and tabled [Kh]-[Jh], only to see kakagun reveal [Kd]-[Ks] for the overpair. The turn and river came down [2s]-[Td], and kakagun crippled the chip leader and took a dominating chip lead over the rest of the field. With seven players remaining, a brief discussion of a deal broke out, but kakagun's overwhelming chip lead made the numbers untenable, and play continued.

Ruguebye came into the final table as one of the shortest stacks, and he played it well, doubling up several times to stay alive and finally getting it all in with the best of it only to bust in 7th place ($19,413). Ruguebye and mschili-26 traded raises back and forth preflop before all the money finally went in, with Ruguebye at risk but holding the dominant hand. He tabled [9d]-[9h] to mschili-26's [6c]-[6s]. All that went out the window when the flop came down [Td]-[6d]-[4d] to give mschili a set of sixes. Ruguebye wasn't dead yet, he still had two nines and nine diamonds to draw for, but the [5s] on the turn was no help. The [7h] on the river sealed his fate, and then there were six.

But only for a few minutes, as kakagun got back to his old habits of sending opponents to the rail. This time it was former chip leader zefir_max, who had struggled back into contention after losing that massive pot to kakagun earlier. Kakagun raised preflop with [Ad]-[5d], and zefir made the call with [Kh]-[Qh]. The flop hit both players pretty hard when it came down [5s]-[2d]-[Kd]. Zefir checked his top pair, and kakagun moved all in with middle pair and a flush draw. Zefir quickly called, and was ahead as the turn came down the [3h]. But the river was kind to kakagun, bringing the [9d] to complete his flush and send zefir_max home in 6th place ($28,041).

Proludo became the next to exit in the flurry of eliminations, busting at the hands of kakagun in 5th place ($36,669). Kakagun open-shoved for not anywhere near the first time all night, and Proludo called with [Td]-[Ts]. Kakagun showed [Ah]-[Th], and the flop came down [6d]-[Jh]-[6s]. The [9h] on the turn gave kakagun a flush draw, but it was the [Ac] on the river that sent Proludo to the rail. The four remaining players then paused to look at numbers once again. After a brief discussion, the players agreed on the following guaranteed payouts - kakagun: $127,043.14, mschili-26: $81,745.17, vtiger: $69,664.87 and instigator 85: $67,350.13. That deal left $10,000 for the eventual winner, and the players settled in to battle it out for that last ten grand.

Instigator85 was the first to fall, busting in 4th place shortly after the deal was sealed. He moved all in over the top of kakagun's preflop raise with [Ad]-[Td], and kakagun quickly called with [6d]-[6s]. The flop came down with no diamonds and no help for Instigator, as the [Kc]-[4s]-[6h] board made middle set for kakagun. Instigator85 was drawing dead as the turn came down the [7s], and the [Ks] on the river improved kakagun to a full house. Instigator was certainly thrilled on the outcome of the deal, as the $67,350.13 he grabbed in the deal was almost $20K better than the original 4th place prize!

Three-handed play continued for quite some time, until finally the floodgates broke and all the chips went in the middle from all three players in this massive hand! Mschili-26 raised preflop from the button with [Jc]-[Js]. Vtiger moved all in over the top with [7c]-[7s], and kakagun called with [Ah]-[Qs]. Mschili moved the last few chips into the side pot, and kakagun once again called. The flop was a sick [7d]-[Ac]-[9h], giving vtiger a set and kakagun top pair for the side pot. The [Ks] on the turn changed nothing, and the [Qd] river only cemented kakagun's hold on the side pot. Mschili-26 was left out in the cold in 3rd place, good for an $81,745.17 payday.
After that, vtiger doubled through kakagun on the very next hand to grab onto most of the chips in play, and it was just a few hands later that it was all over. With a crazy 20:1 chip disadvantage, kakagun was left shoving with any two cards, and that's what he did with [7h]-[5d]. Vtiger called with [Ks]-[9s], and was ahead going into the [Qd]-[8c]-[Qh] flop. The [Kh] on the turn left kakagun drawing dead, and when the [Ad] hit the river, vtiger had picked up an extra $10,000 and the title of Sunday Warm-Up Champion! Kakagun was still pretty happy with his $127,043 payday for second place, since he ended up the big money winner on the night. Champion vtiger finished with a very handsome $79,664.87 for his win and the chip count chop.

Congratulations to our champion vtiger, all our final table players, and everyone who cashed in this week's Sunday Warm-Up!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/sw/2010/vtiger-victorius-kakagun-cashes-huge-in-066327.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSunday Warm-UpSun, 04 Apr 2010 18:55:16 -0800TheConcept79 takes down a thrilling heads up match to claim Sunday Warm-Up Gold!The luck of the Irish held over a few days for TheConcept79 as he battled back to take down $147,310.32 with no deals in the post-St. Patrick's Day edition of the Sunday Warm-Up. The field of 4,695 players built up a whopping $939,000 prize pool, with the top 675 players picking up cash. After nearly ten hours of wall-to-wall poker, the final nine players settled in to finish off their quest for the big cash.

The first few confrontations of the final table went the way of the underdog, as the shorter stacks doubled through the first few all-ins. But eventually juanan's luck ran out and he became the first casualty of the final table. Action folded around to the deep-stacked Civell in the small blind, and he put out a healthy raise with [Qs]-[2s]. Juanan moved all in over the top in defense of his big blind, and Civell called. Juanan tabled [Jc]-[8s], already behind, and fell further in the rearview as the flop came down [6c]-[4h]-[Qd]. Juanan picked up a pair on the [Jh] turn, but needed to catch another jack or an eight on the river to stay alive. Neither materialized, and when the river peeled off the [Tc], juanan was done in 9th place ($7,512).

LukeFromB13 got all his money in good in his final hand, but the outcome clearly showed why it's called a favorite preflop, but not a winner until all the cards come down. Trontrontron raised from late position with [Ah]-[Qc], and Luke quickly shoved all in over the top with [Ac]-[Ks]. Tron called and was a serious underdog, but the queen-high flop turned that all around in an instant. The final board read [8d]-[Qh]-[5s]-[5h]-[9d], and Luke was the 8th-place finisher ($11,737.50).

Rounder13 watched his stack dwindle until his only option was the open-shove, and when he woke up with [Ac]-[9c] in middle position, that looked like a good hand to do it with. He got action from TheConcept79, who woke up on the button with [Jc]-[Jd], and rounder was in trouble. The [Kh]-[Ts]-[3s] flop was no help, and the [4d] on the turn left rounder drawing thin to stay alive. The [8d] on the river meant the best hand preflop would hold up, and rounder13 headed home in 7th place ($21,127.50).

The rich kept getting richer as the night wore on, and when big stack TheConcept79 moved all in from the button, shorty yomahu felt compelled to call with [Ah]-[7d]. Yomahu was actually ahead preflop, as TheConcept79 showed [Kd]-[Qc], but all that changed on the [Ks]-[4c]-[9c] flop. The [9s] on the turn gave TheConcept two pair, and the aceless [6d] on the river meant that another short stack was gone, as yomahu busted in 6th place for $30,517.50.

TheConcept79's timely aggression and run of good cards continued as he took out his third opponent in a row. This time the victim was once again the shortest remaining stack, vtr82w. Vtr82w raised preflop from the cutoff, and TheConcept79 made a huge re-raise from the small blind, moving all in in a massive bet. TheConcept's trap worked, as vtr82w made the call with [Qd]-[Ts], only to find himself facing TheConcept's [Ks]-[Kc]. The cowboys ran roughshod over vtr82w as they picked up a set on the [7s]-[Kd]-[3h] flop. Vtr82w needed runner-runner to stay alive, so when the [4s] landed on the turn, he was drawing dead. The river was a meaningless [7c], and vtr82w collected $39,907.50 for 5th place.

A few orbits later, and once again it was TheConcept79 claiming yet another casualty. Action folded around to TheConcept, who raised from the small blind. Civell defended his big blind by moving all in over the top with [Jh]-[Td], and TheConcept quickly called with, once again, pocket kings. His [Kc]-[Kd] was firmly in the lead going into the flop, and the [2h]-[6c]-[9c] flop did nothing to change that. The turn was a useless [2h], and Civell was drawing dead. The [4s] came on the river, and Civell headed to the rail with a $53,053.50 payday for 4th place.

Three-way action took just a few hands before the steamroller that was TheConcept79 rolled over trontrontron in 3rd place ($77,467.50). Tron opened with an all-in shove from the button holding [Kc]-[8c], and TheConcept made the call from the big blind with [Qd]-[Jd]. Tron was looking good on the [2h]-[7h]-[8d] flop, but the worm turned on the [Qc] turn, as TheConcept made top pair. The [6c] on the river was no help, and trontrontron was done done done in 3rd place.

After taking a massive chip lead into heads up play, one might think that TheConcept79 would make short work of his last remaining opponent weriol. One would be wrong. After doubling through TheConcept on the very first hand of heads up play, weriol pulled almost even in chips before slipping back down the ladder. After several more back-and-forth hands, weriol moved ahead for the first time. Once he grabbed onto the chip lead, weriol kept the pressure on, taking a 2.5:1 chip lead into the final break of the night.

That final break gave TheConcept time to gather his thoughts and get his game back on track, and just a few minutes after returning to the table, he had pulled almost even. Then in one massive pot, he took back his chip lead in dominating fashion. After trading raises back and forth preflop, all the chips ended up in the middle with weriol holding the chip lead and [Kd]-[7d] to TheConcept's [Jh]-[Js]. TheConcept's jacks held on a board of [2d]-[9c]-[4h]-[7h]-[3s] in a 42-million chip pot that left weriol on life support. But the wily weriol wasn't finished yet, as he doubled back through TheConcept just a couple of hands later.

TheConcept kept the pressure on, and finally it all came down to one big hand. Weriol had been chipped down by the constant raises from TheConcept, and managed one last double up before all the chips went into the middle for the last time. With a nearly 5:1 chip lead, TheConcept open-shoved from the button with [Js]-[Ts]. Weriol called with [As]-[4s], and was ahead preflop. The flop came down [Kh]-[Th]-[9h], and weriol needed an Ace on the turn. The deck didn't oblige, bringing the [Tc] instead. Once again, TheConcept had his opponent drawing dead on the turn, and this time it was for all the potatoes. The river was the [Kc], and weriol was the runner up with a $109,393.50 payday.

TheConcept tore apart the final table in one of the most dominating Sunday Warm-Ups in recent memory, but he had his hands full with weriol in the heads up match. When all was said and done, he earned every bit of the $147,310.32 he took down at the Sunday Warm-Up champion! Congratulation to TheConcept79, weriol for a fantastic runner up performance, and to all our PokerStars players who cashed in the Sunday Warm-Up this week!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2010/theconcept79-takes-down-a-thrilling-head-065906.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSun, 21 Mar 2010 21:01:52 -0800No gold statue, but plenty of doubloons for Ramux in the Sunday Warm-UpWhile the Hollywood stars were walking the red carpet in Hollywood, the only fabric anyone was concerned about in the poker world was the final table felt at the PokerStars Sunday majors. This week's Sunday Warm-Up had 4,980 players, with a prize pool of $996,000. It was a fast and furious final table, with a six-way deal after a racecar start, but when everything was settled and the last cards were dealt, Ramux walked away with the win and the $139,163.73 first place prize money. Not only did he win the event, he held the chip lead when the deal was made, so he ended up with the lion's share of the cash as well!
The final table kicked off in the most tumultuous action I've ever seen, with an elimination on each of the first three hands! On the very first hand of the final table, the short-stacked Shaaarrrp moved all in from early position with [As]-[Qc]. Juda10 moved all in over the top to isolate, and when the rest of the table folded, juda10 showed [8c]-[8h] for the slight edge in the race. A slight edge was all juda10 needed, as the board came down [Ks]-[5d]-[Jh]-[4c]-[9d], and Shaaarrrp was done in 9th place ($7,968).

Before the rest of the table could catch their breath, all the chips were in the middle again as L C P open-shoved with [Kd]-[Qd]. His only opponent was Ansgar2000, holding the charmed hand du jour - pocket eights. Ansgar's [8c]-[8d] was good enough to send another competitor to the rail, however, as the board ran out [6h]-[9s]-[5s]-[Js]-[3d]. After two hands, and two coin flips, there were two fewer players at the table as LCP collected $12,450 for 8th place.

But the frenzy wasn't over yet, as Ramux and gaffel tangled in one last huge pot to kick off the final table. Ramux opened for a raise with [Kh]-[Qh], and made the call when gaffel moved all in over the top with [Ac]-[Js]. The flop brought a huge draw to Ramux, as it came down [3h]-[3s]-[7h], giving Ramux the flush draw to go with his live cards. The flush hit the turn on the form of the [Th], leaving gaffel drawing dead. The river was the irrelevant [Jc], and gaffel headed to bed with an extra $22,410 for 7th place in his bankroll.

With the breathtaking pace of the first few eliminations, the remaining six players decided to chat about a deal. The massive chip lead the Ramux had accumulated made the deal process difficult, but after some lengthy debate, a deal was reached that left $10,000 for the winner and locked up comfortable guarantees for everyone.

The deal locked up $129,163.73 for chip leader Ramux, while the second-place Ansgar2000 picked up $86,163.71. Hismoon nabbed $77,163.71 for his third-place stack, Method999 locked in $68,163.71, juda10 took down a guaranteed $66,163.71 and Feez0 grabbed $48,163.71 for his 6th-place stack. That left $10,000 for the eventual winner of the tournament, and play resumed.

After some jockeying for position at the final table and a few double-ups, the first big confrontation sent two players to the rail at once. Feez0 found himself on the extreme short stack and put his last few chips in the middle of the table as the big blind. Method999 raised from the button, and Ramux made the call from the small blind. The flop came down [9d]-[Ks]-[7h], and the rest of the chips went in the middle. Feez0 showed [Qs]-[4s], Method999 opened [Kh]-[6d], and Ramux held the lead with [Kc]-[Td]. The [Kd] on the turn did nothing to change that, and when the river brought the [Ts], it was all over for Feez0 and Method999.

Ansgar2000 was the next to fall, busting in 4th place at the hands of juda10. Action folded around to juda, who moved all in preflop with [6h]-[9h]. Ansgar thought for a moment but finally called with [Ac]-[8c]. Juda10 picked up a pair of nines on a flop of [Th]-[Ks]-[9c], and that was enough to hold up and send Ansgar packing as the turn and river came down [7d]-[Qd] and thin the field to three.

It took a little while to whittle it down, and there were several double-throughs along the way to heads-up play, but finally juda10's run at the final table came to an end. After Ramux folded from the button, juda10 moved all in from the small blind with [Ac]-[6c]. Hismoon made the call with [Ad]-[9c], and his lead extended with the flop of [4d]-[As]-[9s]. Needing running sixes to stay alive, juda was drawing dead after the [Tc] hit the turn. The river was a meaningless [Qd], and the tournament was heads up for $10,000.

Heads up play was a real battle, with multiple lead change and double ups before everything was finally settled. But in the end, it came down to who could catch cards when it counted most, and that was Ramux on the last hand. After crippling Hismoon, then doubling him up on back-to-back hands, all the money went in the middle preflop once again, but this time Ramux had the right ammo - pocket aces. His [Ac]-[Ad] was firmly in the driver's seat against Hismoon's [Kc]-[Jh]. The flop brought more suspense as it came down [Tc]-[7c]-[Qs], giving Hismoon the up and down straight draw, but the [5h] on the turn was no help. Ramux just needed to fade an ace or nine on the river to win the tournament and the extra $10k, and when the river brought the [Qd], that's exactly what he did. Hismoon played a brilliant final table, even taking over Ramux's seemingly insurmountable chip lead a couple of time, but in the end he could only come away with second place.

Congrats to Ramux, who picked up $139,163.73 when all was said and done, and congratulations as well to all our final table players!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2010/no-gold-statue-but-plenty-of-doubloons-f-065287.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsPokerStars Sunday TournamentsPokerStars Sunday Warm-UpSun, 07 Mar 2010 21:19:44 -0800Homanga comes from behind for win in gigantic Sunday Warm-Up field!This weekend was a huge one for PokerStars, with the NAPT Venetian going on, the EPT Copenhagen wrapping up, and more exploded guarantees in the Sunday major tourneys. But it was the phenomenal 40 Billionth Hand promotion that drove the action online this week. This week's Sunday Warm-Up drew a tremendous field of 5,341 players, creating a prize pool of $1,068,200. The top 765 players took home a piece of that prize pool, with the lion's share going to cumicon, who held a dominating chip lead when a four-way deal was struck. Thanks to his chip lead at that point, cumicon took home over $128,000, while eventually finishing in 3rd place. Our champion homanga, meanwhile, came from one of the shortest stacks when the final table kicked off to claim a final prize of $111,006.50.

It's not often that the final table bubble corresponds to break time, but that's exactly what happened this week. The players came back from break for just a couple of hands of bubble, then the final table was set. The chip stacks looked like this when the final table kicked off -

After the final table bubble burst, it took just one hand for the field to be reduced to eight. Intervntion opened for a raise from the button with [5s]-[5h], and polpolpol woke up with [Kh]-[Kc] in the small blind. Polpolpol made the call for the last of his stack, but watched his huge favorite turn into a huge dog when the flop came down [Jh]-[5d]-[8h]. The [4h] on the turn gave polpolpol a flush draw to stay alive, but the [Qs] on the river was no good, and intervntion sent polpolpol packing in 9th place ($8545.60).

Alexuuus quickly followed polpolpol to the rail, busting in 8th place just moments later. On the short stack and in late position, alexuuus shipped it all in when the action folded around to him in the cutoff with [Jc]-[8c]. Cumicon had a dominating chip lead and the big blind, so he made the call with [Kd]-[9s]. The flop was right in cumicon's wheelhouse as it came down [Ks]-[3d]-[5d]. The [Jh] hit the turn to give alexuuus a little hope, but it wasn't enough, as the [6s] came on the river. Alexuuus picked up $13,352.50 for his 8th-place finish.

Play continued 7-handed for a while until cumicon decided it was time to send another opponent to the rail. This time it was intervntion, busting in 7th place for $24,034.50. Intervntion raised preflop from early position, then snap-called when cumicon moved all in over the top from the big blind. Intervntion was in the lead when the cards were revealed, with [Jc]-[Js] to cumicon's [Kd]-[Th]. The players traded places promptly on the flop, though, as it came down [3c]-[Ks]-[Qh]. The [7h] on the turn was no help to either player, and when the [Ac] came on the river, intervntion's run was over.

Skryll was next to fall, finishing a respectable 6th place thanks to a coin flip gone the other way. ANIMAL5050 raised preflop with [8d]-[8s], and Skryll moved all in over the top with [Ac]-[9h]. ANIMAL5050 made the call, then made a set on the [9s]-[8c]-[3d] flop. Skryll needed to catch perfect running cards to stay alive, and when the [Jd] hit the turn, he was drawing dead. The river was an irrelevant [4d], and Skryll headed home with an extra $34,716.50 in his virtual pocket.

Another coin flip, another victim, could be the story of the night as cumicon claimed another victim, busting bigbear17 in 5th place ($45,398.50). The players traded raises back and forth preflop until all the money was in the middle, and bigbear17 tabled [Tc]-[Ts] to cumicon's [Ac]-[Jd]. The flop pretty much ended all speculation when it came down [9d]-[Ks]-[Jh]. Bigber17 needed a queen or a ten on the turn or river to stay alive, but when the rest of the board ran out [5s]-[2d], the field was down to four. The last four players took a brief break to discuss a chop, and after some wrangling agreed to a deal that guaranteed big payouts to all four players.

Chip leader cumicon locked up $128,006.50, while second-place APerfectGent nabbed a guaranteed $109,006.50. Homanga rounded out the six-figure club at $101,006.50, while fourth-place ANIMAL5050 took down $92,006.50. This deal left $10,000 to play for, so the four survivors took a brief moment to congratulate each other, and then re-entered the fray.

As often happens once a deal is struck, the all-ins came fast and furious once the details had been hammered out. It was just a few hands into four-handed play when homanga raised enough from the small blind to put ANIMAL5050 all in with a call. ANIMAL did indeed call, and was slightly ahead with [Ac]-[4d] to homanga's [Kc]-[Js]. The flop helped neither player as it came down [6s]-[8h]-[9c]. Homanga was behind ANIMAL's ace-high even when the turn brought the [Qs], but the [Tc] on the river made the runner-runner straight, and ANIMAL5050 was done in 4th place ($92,006.50).

The player happiest about making a four-way deal had to be cumicon, because after a marathon three-way session, he ended up on the short end and still had the biggest payday of anyone. After losing a few tough hands to APerfectGent, cumicon's demise came at the hands of homanga. With only fumes left in his tank, cumicon moved all in preflop with [Qh]-[9s], and homanga made the call with [Ah]-[8c], and promptly flopped trips on the [3h]-[Ad]-[As] board. With his opponent drawing dead, homanga added insult to injury when he rivered quads on a final board of [3h]-[Ad]-[As]-[6s]-[Ac]. It was pretty hard for cumicon to be upset, though, as he'd locked up $128K for a third-place finish!
Heads up play then ensued between APerfectGent and homanga, who were both mostly concerned with the TLB points at stake, even moreso than the $10,000! They battled back and forth for quite some time, before finally this hand happened.

APerfectGent opened with a button raise, and homanga made the call. The flop came down [9c]-[9s]-[Kh], and homanga led out. APerfectGent raised, and homanga once again flat-called. Homanga checked the [7d] turn, and APerfectGent led out. Homanga called once again, then checked again on the [8d] river. APerfectGent moved all in, and homanga called. APerfectGent showed [9h]-[4h] for trips, but was crushed to see homanga table [Js]-[9d] for trips with a better kicker. After all that heads up play, it all came down to a kicker as homanga picked up an extra $10,000 and the title of Sunday Warm-Up champion!

Congrats to homanga, APerfectGent, and all our final table players for a game well played. Join us next week for more busted guarantees and gigantic payouts!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/sw/2010/homanga-comes-from-behind-for-win-in-gig-1-064757.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSunday Warm-UpMon, 22 Feb 2010 00:11:34 -0800Steady ROHR comes from behind for Sunday Warm-Up Victory!It was a huge weekend in PokerStars-land, with the EPT Deauville reaching a final table just hours before the Sunday Majors kicked into high gear, with both the Warm-Up and Sunday Million blowing through their guarantees with ease yet again. After better than ten hours of high-octane tournament poker ROHR came from behind to claim the victory and $119,548.05 payday. His final payout was the result of a three-way deal and the extra $10,000 he won as a result.

It took nine hours to get there, but only a few minutes to play out hand-for-hand play as derek8 busted in 10th place to set up the final table. Gretko came into the final table as the chip leader, with the stacks looking like this as the final nine settled in to duke it out for the big money.

It only took a few hands into the final table for the first big confrontation to take place. Action started off reasonably, with a preflop raise from Chaesi and a call from ROHR, but the fireworks kicked off when the flop came down [Qs]-[9s]-[Ah]. Chaesi led out with a bet, and ROHR flat-called to bring the [Jd] on the turn. Chaesi quickly moved all in with [Ad]-[Js] for two pair, and ROHR made the easy call with [As]-[Qh] for the bigger two pair. Only a jack on the river would save Chaesi, but it was not to be when the [Ac] rolled off to send him packing in 9th place ($7,708.80).

Joe Hahn came into the final table one of the shortest stacks, and when action folded around to his small blind, [Qd]-[6c] looked good enough to shove with, so that's exactly what he did. ToetagU thought for a moment before calling, but tabled the dominating [Ah]-[6d] to put Joe in a world of hurt. Life got no better for Joe Hahn as the board ran out [Ac]-[8s]-[Ks]-[Qh]-[Kh] to bust him in 8th place ($12,045).

Negriin played the short-stack ninja role well, ducking and weaving his tiny stack to a 7th-place finish and a $21,681 payday. His run came to an end at the hands of the deep-stacked gretko, who moved all in over the top of Negriin's preflop raise. The pot-committed Negriin called with [Ac]-[3d], only to find himself crushed by gretko's [Ad]-[4h]. The flop of [4s]-[9c]-[7c] left Negriin looking for running clubs to stay alive, and for a moment it looked like the poker gods would obey when they dropped the [Tc] on the turn. But the river was a less-than-helpful [6h], and Negriin was headed to the virtual rail.

Gretko claimed another victim and the chip lead when he busted toetagU in 6th place ($31,317). All the money went in preflop when toetagU defended his small blind against gretko's button raise by moving all in over the top with [Ah]-[2d]. Unfortunately for toetagU, gretko wasn't on a bluff, but had pocket queens. Gretko made the obvious call, but the [4d]-[2h]-[4s] flop gave toetagU a couple more outs. The [Td] on the turn wasn't one of them, and neither was the [5s] that hit the river as gretko's queens held up, and then there were five.

They say that fortune favors the bold, and it's certainly easier to be bold if you've got a big chip lead. That's what the world looked like when gretko open-raised from the small blind with [Kc]-[3s], then called delegator's all-in move. Delegator showed [Ah]-[Kh], and looked to be in good shape to double through the chip lead on the [Jc]-[8s]-[Tc] flop, but disaster in the form of the [3h] came on the turn. The [7d] on the river was no help, and delegator was relegated to a 5th-place finish, good for $40,953.

Donnylon346 made it all the way to 4th place mostly by staying out of the way, but eventually he too, succumbed to the gretko steamroller. Gretko opened with a raise from the button, and donnylon moved all in over the top with [Ac]-[5h]. Gretko made the call with [Ah]-[8c], and was significantly ahead of his opponent. The flop was no big help to either player, coming down [4s]-[Jc]-[7c], and the [Qd] on the turn was equally meaningless. The [Qh] on the river brought no reprieve for donnylon, and he was done in 4th place ($54,443.40).

With donnylon's elimination, the three remaining players took a moment to discuss a chop, and after some brief discussion, they agreed on a chip count chop that locked up $128,188.59 for gretko, $109,548.05 for ROHR and $94,758.03 for risiko13. With $10,000 left on the table for the eventual winner, the three survivors retook their seats and the tournament was re-started.

All the money went in on a coin flip on the very first hand back, as gretko opened from the button with [Ah]-[Jh], and risiko13 moved all in over the top with [6h]-[6c]. The flop swung the pendulum firmly to gretko's side when it came down [Tc]-[Ad]-[Qh], and risiko was in deep trouble. The [5s] on the turn was no help for anyone, and when the river brought the [9h], risiko was done in 3rd place and heads up poker ensued.

For all the fevered pace of the rest of the final table, the heads up match between ROHR and gretko was a study in patience. Gretko took a big lead into heads up play, and quickly established a 2:1 chip advantage, but was unable to advance his cause for the longest time as ROHR proved adept at picking his spots and timing his moves.

And finally, after a lengthy heads-up duel, ROHR's patience was rewarded. He took a dominant chip lead when his pocket eights held up against gretko's flush draw in the next-to-last hand of the tournament, and then this all happened. With a massive chip lead, ROHR opened for a raise from the button with [3c]-[3h]. Gretko called for the last of his chips with [Jd]-[4c]. The flop of [Qd]-[7s]-[6h] was no help to either player, but gretko picked up an inside straight draw with the [5c] turn. No two-outer for greto, though, as the [Ad] on the river sent him packing in 2nd place, but with $128,188.59 for his troubles.

ROHR proved that good things come to those who wait, and his slow-but-steady approach to the heads up match garnered him a Sunday Warm-Up title and $119,548.05 for a good day's work. Congratulations to ROHR and all our final table players on a job well done!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2010/steady-rohr-comes-from-behind-for-sunday-063603.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSun, 24 Jan 2010 22:55:15 -0800Vyna comes from behind to claim Sunday Warm-Up Victory!With the live action drawing to a finale down at the Atlantis resort for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the numbers in the Sunday Warm-Up were massive this week, with 4,701 entrants building a prize pool of $940,200.00. At the end of the night, it was Vyna outlasting the other 4,700 competitors to take down the title and the $98,695 as a result of a four-way deal.

The final table kicked off after nine grueling hours of tournament play, and the action kicked off quickly. It only took a few orbits for the first casualty of the final table to occur, and it was the short-stacked PaperChump making his exit in 9th place ($7,521.60). Action folded around to PaperChump in middle position, who moved all in preflop with [Kc]-[8d]. Action then passed to the deep stacked flpro157, who woke up with [5c]-[5s] and made the call. The board missed PaperChump completely, running out [Jc]-[2d]-[Ts]-[9c]-[2s] to thin the field by one.

The short stacks kept falling, as teknotom headed to the rail in 8th place ($11,752.50). Teknotom moved all in preflop from late position with [Ad]-[8d], and wreidthansen re-raised out of the small blind to isolate. The big blind folded, and wriedthansen's [Ac]-[Kh] was revealed. The flop was interesting as it came down [Kd]-[9h]-[9d], giving teknotom a flush draw to go up against wriedthansen's top pair, top kicker. The [4s] on the turn was no help to either player, and when the [8s] hit the river, teknotom was done in 8th.

Another elimination, and again it was the shortest remaining stack that fell by the wayside. After an opening raise from flpro157, Se7enTr3y looked down at [8h]-[8d] on the button. He moved all in over the top, only to watch flpro157 snap-call with [As]-[Ac]. The board ran out [2d]-[Js]-[4s]-[6s]-[9s] to give flpro157 the nut flush, and give Se7enTr3y $21,154.50 for his 7th-place finish.

After losing a massive pot to AJacejackAJ, flpro157 was on the extreme short stack, and finally moved all in preflop with [6c]-[9d]. Vyna made the call with [Ad]-[Kd], and his lead grew only wider when the flop came down [Qh]-[Ks]-[7c]. The [Ts] on the turn gave flpro157 a gutshot straight draw, but the [Qs] on the river was no help, and flpro157 had to settle with $30,556.50 for 6th place.

A cruel river sent Joe Hahn home in 5th place ($39,958.50). Joe Hahn raised preflop, and AJacejackAJ flat called to see a flop of [7h]-[3s]-[2d]. Joe Hahn fired another bullet at the flop holding [Ac]-[Th], and AJacejackAJ called with [4h]-[5h] for the double gutshot draw. Joe Hahn checked the [2c] turn, and AJacejackAJ led out. Joe Hahn called, then check-raised all in when the river showed the [Ad]. Joe Hahn's two pair was no good against AJacejackAJ's rivered wheel, and then there were four.

Players took a few moments to discuss a deal, and at the end of a brief discussion, the remaining four players locked up the following amounts. Chip leader AJacejackAJ took down a guaranteed $137,866, with paddy723 locking up $90,381. Vyna took a guaranteed $88,695, and the short stack, wriedthansen locked up $60,508, with $10,000 left for the eventual winner.

Play loosened up considerable after a deal was made, with three double ups in the first five hands, as wriedthansen doubled up twice and vyna took over the chip lead when he doubled through AJacejackAJ. Wriedthansen's comeback continued as he busted paddy723 in a b ig hand. Paddy723 open-shoved from the button, and wriedthansen called from the small blind. Paddy723 was slightly ahead with [Ad]-[5h], but the cards were close as wriedthansen showed [Ah]-[4h]. The flop was an innocuous [9c]-[8s]-[Kh], but the [7h] on the turn gave wriedthansen the nut flush draw. The [9h] promptly landed on the river to fill the flush, and paddy723 had to be content with his $90,000 payday from the deal.

The three remaining players continued to sling chips back and forth, with an all in seemingly every other hand, until finally Vyna took out AJacejackAJ with his namesake hand. AJ raised preflop with [As]-[Qc], and wriedthansen flat-called. Vyna three-bet from the big blind with [Ah]-[Js], and AJ moved all in over the top. Vyna thought for a moment before calling, and was in deep trouble preflop. But the flop changed everything, as it came down [4s]-[9d]-[Jc]. The [Ad] on the turn left AJ looking for a queen and only a queen, but when the river rolled over the [Tc], his tournament was over in 3rd place. Thanks to the four-way chop, AJacejackAJ still took down the biggest payout, with $137,000 added to his bankroll as wriedthansen and Vyna settled in to play heads up for $10,000.

It only took a few hands, and even though he put on a great run at the final table, wriedthansen couldn't quit crawl out of the chip deficit he was in. The final hand started off slow, as both players limped in to see a [4d]-[8d]-[9c] flop, but the bets and raises started flying after the flop. All the money went in on the [8s] turn, and wriedthansen showed [6c]-[7h] for a straight draw, as Vyna tabled [7s]-[9d] for two pair. The [Ad] on the river was no help to wriedthansen, and he had to settle for his $60,500 as part of the deal.

Vyna picked up an extra $10,000 to bring his total take for winning to $98,000 and some change. Congratulations to all our final table players and everyone who cashed in this week's Sunday Warm-Up!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2010/vyna-comes-from-behind-to-claim-sunday-w-063082.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSunday Warm-UpSun, 10 Jan 2010 23:25:12 -0800PokerStars Sunday tournament results (11-29-09)We love of a good game of What Does Johnny Lodden Think (although, we prefer a game of What Does (French EPT Commentator) Benjo Think?. So, after last night's Sunday Million, we would love to sit around and ruminate on what Lodden thinks about making the final table of the biggest weekly poker tournament in the world.

That's exactly what happened on the last weekend of November. Lodden took fifth place early this morning for $72,616. It happened in a monster 9,077-player field playing for a $1,815,400 prize pool.The biggest winner of the day was Brazil's caio_pimenta who banked a startling $259,243 for first place. To see how he did it, check out Jen Newell's 11-29-09 Sunday Million report.

While that was the biggest win of the weekend, it was not the only one. November brought back from hiatus the much-loved PokerStars Turbo Takedown, a FPP-tournament with a $1 million prize pool. The PokerStars Blog's David Aydt tracked that one from beginning to end and saw viebu win $38,991 and a brand new car.

It was also the weekend for the Battle of the Planets finalists to square off in the monthly Triple Shootout. Aydt was on top of that one, too, and has the story of makkie21's win.

This week is all about live events. By this time tomorrow, EPT Prague and APPT Sydeny will be underway. Keep it here for all the live action.

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2009/pokerstars-sunday-tournament-results-11--2-061808.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSunday TournamentsMon, 30 Nov 2009 10:24:09 -0800Mr. Shanish knocks out four in a row to capture Sunday Warm-Up Title! The Sunday Warm-Up continued to blaze hotter and hotter as the weather got colder this November weekend, with a whopping $925,600 in the prize pool. 4,628 players bellied up to the virtual felt to take their shot at the massive payout, and the top 675 finishers got paid for their efforts. Of course, the big money was concentrated at the final table, so after a little less than nine hours of grueling poker, the nine survivors gathered 'round the final table.

Action was tentative to start off, with players avoiding any major confrontations in the first few hands, but as the blinds and antes grew, the short stacks had to take their shots to double up just to stay alive. Melano26 put his last few chips in the middle with [As]-[8s] and found a caller in CruSader1981. Big stack angevert then moved all in over the top to isolate, and CruSader1981 got out of the way. Angevert was ahead with [Jd]-[Js], and the flop of [Jh]-[7s]-[Qc] left melano26 needing to catch runner-runner perfect to stay alive. The [2h] on the turn meant that melano26 was drawing dead, and when the meaningless [6s] rolled off on the river, melano26 was busted in 9th place ($7,404.80).

Floes came into the final table as the second-shortest stack, and it was just a few hands after melano26's elimination when floes open-shoved from the small blind with [Ad]-[5c]. It was a good time for the move, with a bunch of dead blinds and antes in the pot, but Mr. Shanish woke up with [Ac]-[Jc] in the big blind and made the easy call. Already a dominant favorite, Mr. Shanish took final control on the flop as it came down [9d]-[3h]-[Jh]. Running nines on the turn and river gave Mr. Shanish a full house, and gave floes 8th place money to the tune of $11,750.00.

Bahneyyy lost most of his stack in a huge hand earlier at the final table, but held on for a few more orbits before he got it all in preflop with [As]-[5c] against CruSader1981's [Ac]-[9s]. The board did nothing to help Bahneyyy, running out [8c]-[Jc]-[2h]-[3c]-[9h], and CruSader1981 picked up some much-needed chips as Bahneyyy busted in 7th place ($20,826).

CruSader1981 played his short stack well, but he eventually found a number of outs he couldn't fade when he went out in 6th place ($30,082) at the hands of angevert in this hand.

After a lengthy period of five-handed jousting, one misstep by cspdealer left him watching the game from the sidelines after busting in 5th place ($39,338). The aggressive Mr. Shanish opened for a raise from the button, and cspdealer re-raised from the big blind with [Kd]-[Js]. Mr. Shanish moved all in over the top, and cspdealer called, only to find he was dominated by Mr. Shanish's [As]-[Jc]. The flop hit both players as it came down [Ac]-[Kc]-[9h], but Mr. Shanish's top pair was well ahead of cspdealer's middle pair. The [Qh] on the turn gave cspdealer few more outs to stay alive, but the [Qc] on the river ended his tournament.

After losing a big pot to double up the short-stacked $saxo$, Mr. Shanish came right back on the very next hand to bust rivermanl in 4th place ($52,296.40). Rivermanl moved all in preflop from the small blind on a steal with [Qs]-[5s], but Mr. Shanish found [Jc]-[Jh] in the big blind and made the easy call. The flop of [Tc]-[7h]-[7c] helped neither player, but the [5c] on the turn gave rivermanl a few more ways to survive. None of those ways included the [Td], so when that fell on the river, there were only three.

With the stacks exceptionally close, the final three survivors took a few moments to discuss a deal. With the stacks almost even, the players decided on an even chop of the remaining money, with $10,000 left in the middle for the eventual champion. That locked up $106,468.22 for each player, a pretty good day's work by almost any standard. With their six-figure payday in hand, the remaining three players settled in to duke it out for the last $10K.

It only took a few minutes of folding before a big confrontation brewed up between our three survivors. The ever-aggressive Mr. Shanish opened for a raise from the small blind with [Ad]-[9h], and $saxo$ moved all in over the top with [3h]-[3s]. The race was on as the flop came down [7h]-[8s]-[Qh], and $saxo$ had faded the overcards. The [2h] gave both players a flush draw, and the [4h] on the river gave Mr. Shanish the bigger flush to send $saxo$ home in 3rd place.

Heads up play lasted only three hands, and Mr. Shanish won all of them to secure his extra $10,000 and the Sunday Warm-Up title. The last hand went down like this -

When the dust cleared, Mr. Shanish's aggressive play had locked up the last $10K on the table and made a $116,468.22 payday for himself. Congratulations to Mr. Shanish and all our Sunday Warm-Up players!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2009/mr-shanish-knocks-out-four-in-a-row-to-c-1-061794.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSunday TournamentsSunday Warm-UpSun, 29 Nov 2009 22:56:08 -0800Egor2077 gets hot at the right time to claim Sunday Warm-Up Win!This week's edition of the Sunday Warm-Up drew a whopping 4,763 entrants to build a prize pool of a massive $952,600, more than $200,000 over the guarantee! By the time the final table was set, it was fully dark on the east coast, and the late NFL game was almost to halftime. Final table host PokerStars Team Pro Ivan Demidov came on to welcome the players to the final table, and they had just enough time to play one hand before going on a quick break.

With nine hours in the books, it would take the players less than 90 minutes to declare a winner. When all was said and done it was egor2077 getting hot hands at the right time to decimate his last opposition and claim the $149,017.54 top prize, with no deals made at the final table this week.

Short stack smerks pushed his stack into the middle several times before finding himself in a final coin flip against GoldStar player xQ024. Smerks held a slight edge preflop with [8h]-[8d], but xQ024's [Ks]-[Jd] made top pair on the [Kh]-[Th]-[7s] flop and smerks needed on of the two remaining eights or running hearts to stay alive. The turn card was a singularly unhelpful [Ad], and when the river brought the [9s], smerks was headed to the rail in 9th place ($7,620.80). Just a few hands later funnywhiteshss open-shoved with [Kh]-[Qs], only to run into egor2077's [Ah]-[As]. The board ran out [4c]-[8h]-[9s]-[7d]-[5s], and then there were seven. Funnywhiteshss picked up $11,907.50 for 8th place.

The all-ins were flying around like bullets in a Quentin Tarantino movie, but most of the time the short stacks were dodging elimination. After an opening all in move from egor2077 in the small blind, timdmd defended his big blind with [Qh]-[9h]. It turned out to be a good read, as egor2077 was on a steal with [As]-[3c], but the [Jc]-[9c]-[Ah] flop put egor2077 firmly into the driver's seat. Timdmd needed a queen or another nine to stay alive, but the turn and river ran out [6d]-[3h], and he was done in 7th place ($21,433.50).

XQ024 came out firing again with a series of strong preflop raises, and fabregarp moved all in over the top of his button raise with [As]-[2h]. This time xQ024 turned over the dominating [Ad]-[Kc], and fabregarp was in danger of elimination. The flop of [3d]-[3h]-[6d] was no help to either player, but fabregarp picked up additional outs when the [5c] hit the turn. No deuce or four landed on the river, however, as the [Jc] was the final card in his final hand. Fabregarp picked up an impressive $30,959.50 for his 6th-place finish.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this little video shows how a river is worth $40,485.50. That's how much olle101 picked up for his tournament after busting out in 5th place.

Play slowed dramatically with only four players remaining, as the remaining players jockeyed for position and passed the chip lead back and forth among themselves. Finally, just before the final break of the night, egor2077 took out two players in short order to move into a 2:1 chip lead going into heads-up play. First, xQ024 moved all in from the small blind with [Tc]-[Th], and egor2077 called with [Ad]-[Kd]. A flop of [4s]-[Ac]-[3h] put the coin flip in egor2077's court, and when the turn and river came down [Jd]-[7c], xQ024 was done in 4th place ($53,821.90).

On the very next hand, egor2077 raised from the button with [Ac]-[9c], and FUTURE102 moved all in over the top with [Ks]-[Kd]. FUTURE102 looked poised to double through egor2077 on the [Qd]-[8c]-[5d] flop, but the [Tc] on the turn gave egor2077 more outs to win. The [Ah] on the river was one of those outs, and FUTURE102 was done in 3rd place ($78,589.50) and egor2077 took a significant chip lead into heads up play.

No stranger to online final tables, Titantom32 closed the gap heads up fairly quickly, refusing to make things easy on egor2077. The players feinted and parried for long minutes before finally the chips went in the middle for the last time.

When the dust settled, egor2077's two pair were better than Titantom32's, and he was eliminated in 2nd place ($110,977.90). With no deal in place, or ever seriously discussed, egor2077 took out the final three opponents at the final table to claim the $149,017.54 top prize. Congratulations to egor2077 and all our final table players!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/sw/2009/egor2077-gets-hot-at-the-right-time-to-c-061259.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSunday TournamentsSunday Warm-UpSun, 15 Nov 2009 21:28:17 -0800Brianm15 stages spectacular comeback to take down Sunday Warm-Up! This week's Sunday Warm-Up once again saw the $750,000 guarantee shattered, as 4,412 entrants built a massive $882,400 prize pool. As always, the final table was a hard-fought affair, lasting ninety minutes before brianm15 came from a huge short-handed chip deficit to top chip leader witcherd heads up for the title and the extra $10,000 left on the table after a four-way deal was cut. Witcherd, who held the chip lead from the time the final table started until just before heads up play commenced, picked up $113,400 for second place while winner brianm15 logged an $85,000 victory.

Frugtplukker was the final table bubble boy, collecting $5,294 for 10th place when his pocket eights couldn't hold up. Witcherd came into the final table with the biggest stack, but pocktnizzles and Supa4real were also stacked deep as the final nine consolidated to play for the big money.

Almost as soon as the final table started, it was time for one of the tournament's scheduled breaks. After a quick five-minute pit stop, short stack jouby44 picked up his namesake hand in late position and moved all in with [4s]-[4c]. Brianm15 defended his big blind with [Ah]-[9d], and the race was on. That race ended in 9th place for jouby44 as the flop came down [7c]-[Ac]-[6h] to give brianm15 top pair and leave jouby44 drawing thin to say alive. The turn and river brought no help as they came down [Th]-[Ts], and jouby44 was the first elimination from the final table, picking up $7,059.21 for 9th place.

Jordie1982 went out in 8th place in very unlucky fashion after getting all his chips in as a big favorite over brianm15. After action folded around to his button, Jordie open-shoved with [Ah]-[Qc]. Brianm15 made the call from the small blind with [Kd]-[Qs], and Jordie1982 looked poised for a double up, especially when the flop came down [8s]-[2s]-[6c]. The [7s] on the turn gave Brianm15 a few more outs to the flush, but it was the [Kc] on the river that shipped the pot Brian's way, leaving Jordie1982 out in 8th place ($11,030.01).

It was turning into a night of nasty river cards, and BillieD was the next victim to be washed away when he ran afoul of chip leader witcherd. On the short stack, BillieD open-shoved with [Qs]-[Qd], and super stack witcherd defended his small blind with [Ks]-[5s]. The flop was harmless, coming down [9h]-[Ad]-[6h], and the [8h] on the turn was no help to either player. But the river peeled off the [Kh], giving witcherd the bigger pair, and the last of BillieD's stack as well. BillieD picked up $19,854.01 to soothe the pain of the bad beat.

Witcherd claimed another victim when his [6s]-[6h] not only held up against kingsofcards all-in, but actually improved significantly along the way. Kingsofcards moved all in for a huge preflop raise from the cutoff with [4c]-[4s], and witcherd called from the small blind with sixes. If kingsofcards was in trouble preflop, the [6c]-[Jc]-[8h] left him drawing to running perfect cards to stay alive. None of those running perfect scenarios included the [9d], so when that peeled off on the turn, the king was dethroned and drawing dead. The river was a meaningless [Jd], and kingsofcards was done in 6th place ($28,678.01). After that hand, witcherd's chip stack was nearly twice that of his nearest opponent.

That chip stack got even healthier when witcherd busted his third opponent in quick succession, this time taking out bboooommmmmm in 5th place ($37,502.01). Action folded around to bboooommmmmm, who moved all in preflop from the small blind with [Ah]-[8c]. Witcherd quickly called with [Ad]-[10c], and the chip leader was once again in the driver's seat with an opponent all in. The flop of [As]-[7h]-[Qd] did nothing to change the preflop standings, and when the turn and river came down [3c]-[Qs], it was all over for bboooommmmmm. The remaining four players took a moment to discuss a deal, and after lengthy negotiations came to the following guaranteed money: brianm15 locked up $75,000 even, with pocktnizzles securing $77,484.15. Supa4real claimed $88,000.00, and chip leader witcherd picked up a guaranteed $113,400.00, with $10,000 left for the eventual winner. With the deal in place, the four remaining players settled in to battle for the remaining ten grand the all-important bragging rights.

The play was slower than normal once a deal was in place, but after a few orbits of probing and folding, pocktnizzles and witcherd squared off for one last fight. Pocktnizzles opened for a raise from the cutoff with [8h]-[7d], and witcherd three-bet from the button with [Qc]-[Jc]. The other players got out of the way, and pocktnizzles moved all in over the top. Witcherd made the call, and his overcards improved to a flush draw on the [5s]-[2c]-[3c] flop. The Ks on the turn was no help for either player, and witcherd still led with his unpaired high cards. The [Ac] on the river made his flush, and pocktnizzles was done in 4th place with his $77,484.15 payday.

Brianm15 managed to double through witcherd twice with three players left to move into a solid second place, as Supa4real saw his chip stack begin to dwindle. After a series of raises and re-raises, the last of Supa4real's stack went in on a flop of [8d]-[6d]-[8s]. Supa4real was holding [Kh]-[7s], but brianm15 had flopped two pair with [7h]-[6h] and made the call. The turn and river came down [5s]-[6s] to give brianm15 the full house and the chip lead as he bounced Supa4real in 3rd place, good for $88,000 after the deal.
Tides had certainly turned for brianm15, who was last in chips with four players left. He went into heads-up play with the chip lead, and it took just a few minutes for him to finish off his penthouse to outhouse story and lock up the extra $10,000 by booting witcherd in 2nd place. The final hand looked like this:

Brianm15 opened for a raise from the button, witcherd three-bet, and brianm15 called. The flop came down [4h]-[2s]-[5c], and witcherd led out. Brianm15 made the call, and the [3s] hit the turn. Both players checked, and fireworks erupted on the [Kh] river. Witcherd checked, brianm15 led out, and witcherd check-raised all in with [Qh]-[5d] for top pair on the flop. Brianm15 quickly called with [Ad]-[9c], showing the turned straight for the pot and the tournament win! With the extra $10,000 for winning the tournament, brianm15 secured an $85,000 payday, while witcherd still ended up with $113,400 for his work in the tournament. Congratulations to all our final table players and everyone who cashed in this week's Sunday Warm-Up!

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http://www.pokerstarsblog.com/2009/brianm15-stages-spectacular-comeback-to-060434.htmlPokerStars Sunday TournamentsSun, 18 Oct 2009 23:31:59 -0800calvo1989 comes from behind heads up to claim Sunday Warm-Up Title!The dog days of summer wear on and on, and the prize pool for the Sunday Warm-Up goes up and up. This week another guarantee-busting field turned out, with 3,911 players building a monstrous $782,200 prize pool. After a marathon Sunday performance calvo1989 came out on top in a huge come-from behind victory, knocking off perpetual big stack Payacan heads up and claiming the top prize of $106,970.47 after a heads up chop.

After a brief hand-for-hand period, the final table kicked off with Payacan and Blue Knight1 holding the biggest stacks. Szusza84 was the final table bubble boy, busting with top pair against a flush to claim $4,693.21 for 10th place. Prezidento barely lasted long enough to hear Greg "Fossilman" Raymer's welcoming remarks before he busted in 9th place ($6,257.61) in a huge hand against Dsavo. Coming into the final table the shortest of the short stacks, Prezidento open-shoved from early position with [Ad]-[Qc]. Dsavo woke up in the big blind with [Ac]-[Ah], and snap-called. Prezidento was behind and stayed that way as the final board ran out [As]-[5d]-[8s]-[2c]-[Jd]. Dsavo's top set was good, and then there were eight.

Columbian80% found himself running on fumes with barely 2 big blinds left, so when the action folded around to his button, he shipped it in with [Kd]-[2h]. El Tiltor decided it was his turn to wake up with a monster in the big blind, and called with [As]-[Kh]. The flop of [7c]-[7s]-[5c] helped neither player, and the [Td] on the turn left Columbian80% drawing for three outs. The [Ad] was the furthest thing from help he could have found, and his tournament was over in 8th place ($9777.51).

Faster than you can say "wait a minute, I'm still typing over here!" the field lost another competitor as kiehndk went to the rail in 7th place ($17,599.51). All the money went in preflop, as kiehndk open-shoved from the button with [Kc]-[9d]. Big stack Payacan thought for a moment before making the call with [Ad]-[Ts], but when the flop came down [Td]-[3d]-[6h], it was a great move. The [6d] on the turn gave Payacan the nut flush draw to go with top pair, but the river was an irrelevant [Qc] as Payacan sent kiehndk packing.

The pace of play slowed not a bit as players came back from break to see the next elimination on the very first hand. Blue Knight1 raised from the small blind with [As]-[Ts], and saufar moved all in over the top. Blue Knight1 thought for a moment before making the call, and found out he was in great shape when saufar tabled [Ks]-[9s]. The flop hit both players as it came down [9d]-[Tc]-[3h], but Blue Knight1 had top pair, top kicker and a huge lead in the hand. Top pair held up as the turn and river came down [8h]-[6h], and saufar fell in 6th place for $25,421.51.

El Tiltor was the next to fall when he moved all in preflop with [Qd]-[Js] and got one caller in Blue Knight1 with [Kc]-[Qs]. The board ran out a singularly unhelpful [2d]-[5d]-[Ts]-[9h]-[Th], and El Tiltor was El-iminated in 5th place ($33,243.51). After dropping most of his stack to calvo1989 when he ran [Ad]-[9h] into calvo1989's [Ah]-[Qs], Blue Knight1 was running on fumes when he put the last of his chips in the middle of the table preflop. In his final hand, Blue Knight1 found all his cookies in the middle of the table after calvo1989 raised preflop, Payacan called from the small blind, and Blue Knight1 moved in for the last of his stack from the big blind. Both opponents called, and the live players checked down the [4s]-[Qs]-[Jc]-[6c]-[7h] board. Payacan showed [Ac]-[7d], and Blue Knight1 mucked, picking up $44,976.51 for 4th place.

Just as talks of a deal were starting, a huge hand broke out between the two big stacks. When the dust settled, there was one less big stack after this monster hand.

Dsavo earned a very respectable $64,531,51 for his 3rd-place finish, and the two survivors took a moment to come to a deal. After looking at the numbers, the two remaining players agreed on a chop which gave Payacan $107,352.35 and calvo1989 $96,970.47, with $10,000 left in the middle for the eventual champion. With the details taken care of, the players returned to their corners and came out swinging for the last $10K.

Payacan took a 3:1 chip lead into heads up play, and it wasn't long before the final outcome was decided. Payacan lost the chip lead in huge hand early in heads up play, and the whole confrontation lasted less than fifteen minutes. Finally, it all came down to a coin flip and the river card, as the final hand unfolded like this -

Calvo1989 came from behind in dramatic fashion at the final table to take down the whole enchilada, including the $96,970 from the chop and the extra $10K left for the winner, making his total take $106,970.47. Congratulations to calvo1989 on a spectacular final table performance and a great come-from-behind victory!